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Replies to: How is the house selling season going?

To answer your question: dunno, our house is not for sale, but a house down the road sold in less than 2 weeks. There are 3 others in the neighborhood that have been on the market for more than 2 months. Last fall, a house on my street (horse property) had a small bidding war the first day it went on the market, and another couple of houses (I'd say, compounds, due to their multiple outbuildings and MIL quarters) sold quickly. It if it priced right and in the right condition, it will sell!

I work in the mortgage industry, and I have found a definite uptick in activity lately (over the past couple of weeks). The weather in the Northeast was so cold and yucky I think people didn't go out and look at houses, so the traditional "spring selling season" was pushed back to May. Rates are still very low, so if any CCers are thinking of putting their homes on the market, now is still a good time.

We hope to sell our house next year but things here aren't looking great. There are three houses on my street for sale. They've been sitting for months. The owners across from me recently dropped their asking price by $21,000. They've gotten more lookers but still no takers. Ugh. Hope things get better.

Things are picking up here also. And I agree, if the house is in good condition and priced right, it will sell. I am constantly amazed that people still refuse to list their house at the right price. People need to understand that there are certain psychological barriers for buyers. Listing a house that will most likely sell in the upper $200's for over $299,999 is a complete waste of time. You are limiting a lot of potential buyers that will be looking under $300,000. I listened to a couple argue with their agent because they wanted to list their home for $310,000. The agent explained to them in simple to understand terms, using market analysis to bolster her position that they should list for $299,000 yet these people would not budge! Then when their house doesn't move, because they have missed the search parameters for their potential buyers, they will blame and bad mouth the agent.

My late dad's house is on the market. Its in a good location but it needs updating and some gentle loving care. So, while there have been lookers, no action. I really don't want to have to keep putting $$ into it. Would like to sell it "as is". But this remains to be seen... :(

After a flurry of activity when we first listed our house things here have slowed down. We are at the upper end of the local market, with a rather unusual house, so we are just waiting for that one right person. Fortunately, we plan to build and won't break ground until the money's in the bank so we are not too stressed out.

We still haven't sold. House is in good shape, staged, etc. After listening to several real estate agents, we listed it at 5% less than any of their lowest suggested numbers. Still hasn't sold. The real estate agent tells me the market is very slow where we are, and she says we're already the lowest-price house in our description, so we're discouraged. I have asked them to re-do the outside pictures of the house for the web, so that the pictures keep up with the seasons. Even though the agent says not to drop the price, I'm going to drop the price again before next weekend. We'll see.

One home in our neighborhood was on the market for two months and apparently sold as I saw some activity in the place last week. The flooded out place (foreclosure) is still empty - I don't think that will ever sell until the bank cleans it up. I haven't really watched the local news on home sales but I do know that the mall parking lots are quite busy.

hayden,
Did you do any significaant updates and such before putting it on the market? My dads house is in good shape-- just a bit dated. I've put $$ into getting necessary repairs done and getting it cleaned out, so I am reticent to do more, though I am guessing the realtor may suggest some carpet replacement and wallpaper removal, with a fresh coat of paint. I am not sure the expense will help much. Thoughts?

One house in the neighborhood has sold, a few blocks away. An unusual house, that has a nice condition, with its own entrance, that connects the original house with the original detached garage. Very nice glass door on that addition, giving the impression that one walks into a foyer. It was not on the market very long, as I would have loved to go inside and see how they did it.

Nicest house on the block, owned by an elderly lady, priced higher than the other houses on the block because it's in excellent condition, is now going through price reductions. It's the same model as my house, so dying to go inside for ideas.

But, I'm having a feeling it's not updated, because of the age of the owner, and will probably sit for a long time unless the family puts in money to update it.

To jym, perhaps you may have to update your dad's house to sell. We went through the same thing. After my mom went into assisted living, we did post Katrina renovations, but only put it back to the way it was. We did not want to spend more than the insurance settlement for the fancy kitchen and carpet and updates. We started out way too high on price and the house sat for two years before it sold at a 25 percent loss.

If we had either started low and/or put in the updates, like the granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances, we may have moved it quicker. We probably should have just gutted it and sold it for the price of the lot. We would have gotten the same price we wound up getting after the renovation.

I don't know what insurance/taxes are like in your dad's area, but take into account that the longer it sits, the more you're investing in it cost wise in that regard, so whether you're paying for updates or insurance, it's costing you money to sit.

Unfortunately, in today's market, no matter how cheap the house is, it's not going to sell.

There are houses for sale in my neighborhood asking for half what they would have sold for a couple of years ago, and they're still not moving. And we live in a good school district, too, so houses usually don't stay on the market when they do go up for sale in our neighborhood.

jym, I think wallpaper removal is critical for the house to sell. It is a sad, messy, and tedious job, and many a potential buyer will be deterred by the thought of going through this process. If the carpets are in fairly good condition, not shaggy green or orange, giving a new owner some $$ allowance for carpet replacement might work (I, for instance, am picky about the carpet colors - they have to match the cats). Good luck to you with the process.

It seems like flooring and kitchen is the deal breaker in selling a house. We live in a flood prone area, so we thought buyers would be happy with my mother's totally tile house. No, instead they wanted expensive hardwood floors and carpeting. And the houses with the expensive kitchens were the first to go. My mom's neighbor, much smaller house and yard, got even more money than my mom, was only on the market for a couple of months, because she had expensive kitchen appliances, Subzero?, granite countertops, and hardwood floors throughout. We were flabbergasted, as she had no garage, only a carport, where my mom was the only house on the block with a two car garage. When we bought the house for my mom, we were assured that we'd have no trouble reselling it when my mom eventually moved into assisted living because everyone would jump at the chance to have that big two car garage, which was bigger than my husband's first apartment.

The kitchen was updated (thank heavens) about 10 or so years ago, so has granite countertops and newer cabinets with matching fronts on the dishwasher. The problem is, I live 1000 mi away, so doing this remotely is no easy task. There are hardwoods (very pretty) in the living room, dining room, downstairs hallway and master bath, but the den has very dated carpet. I'd prefer to give an allowance than to have to pay to have all this done, but yes..I just got the notice yesterday that the veterans discount on his taxes is now gone :(

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